The present invention relates to an expandable bracelet, or link strap, in particular a watch strap, consisting of two layers of links, the links of one layer being offset with respect to the links of the other layer in the direction of the length dimension of the bracelet, and the links being held together by connecting clips acting on the ends of the links in such a way that the links can be displaced relative to each other under tensional strain, wherein the links of the upper layer are each provided with a cover element having clip elements on the front.
Expandable bracelets have been known for some decades, one example thereof being disclosed in DE-PS 2 253 557. This reference discloses a double-layered link strap having an elaborate structure composed of heavy metal blocks which, for achieving a variable width of the bracelet, are pushed over the length of the bracelet onto the ends of the links, which are arranged on top of one another.
This solution has the advantage that an esthetic closed appearance of the link strap is possible also in the area of the ends, but it requires a large outlay of material, aside from the relatively complicated design of the links.
A bracelet of this type, described in DE-AS 15 57 471, has a decorative cap which can be pushed onto a hollow link of the upper layer of the link strap and is held on the end of the upper link by snap-in tongues. This arrangement requires a special design of the inside of the front portion of the decorative cap which, however, is not further described in the reference. The removal of the decorative cap is also not described therein, and the cover on the end only extends over the links of the upper layer.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel expandable bracelet or link strap structure that is simpler and more cost-effective than prior art structures, wherein the covering of the ends of the links is possible, and which nevertheless makes possible a simple assembly and disassembly of the bracelet.
The above and other objects are achieved by the provision of an expandable bracelet composed of two layers of links placed on top of each other and cover elements which can be placed on and removed from an associated link of the upper layer of the bracelet by elastic deformation. Clip elements at the ends of each cover element cover the ends of the links at least essentially. The mechanical function portion of the bracelet is covered from the direction of the ends by this arrangement of the cover, and a visually closed appearance of the bracelet is achieved. The application of the cover element also assures a blocking effect on the links of the bracelet when lateral forces appear, so that an unintentional separation of the links is prevented.
One concept of the invention therefore rests in placing, or elastically applying, a continuous cover element onto each link of the upper layer of the bracelet, the cover element having end parts which form clip elements that extend over the ends of essentially both layers. This solution has the advantage that the xe2x80x9cfunctional mechanical structurexe2x80x9d of the link strap cannot be viewed from the direction of the edges of the strap and an esthetically attractive, visually closed appearance of the link strap is achieved.
In this connection it is particularly advantageous to construct the cover element to be elastically or resiliently deformable in such a way that a cover element can be snapped or clipped on an upper links of the link strap, wherein the type and solidity of this snap-on connection can be preselected by simple structural steps in the area of the end, while also taking the respective material of the cover element into consideration.
It is conceivable here for the cover element to be a metal element in the shape of a trough in particular, wherein it is possible to already preselect the design of the esthetic appearance of the link strap by the selection of the metal. With customary constructions, wherein undoing/separating the link strap is achieved by the parallel displacement of adjoining links, the clip elements which cover the sides of the bracelet allow a blocking action, so that this disassembly of the link strap is only possible if it is actually intended and not if (for example when winding or pulling off the watch) considerable lateral forces occur, which could unintentionally lead to the separation of links.
A preferred exemplary embodiment will now be explained in greater detail with reference to the drawings.